POP/ROCK - May 24, 1989

A harsher message was being propounded by Yusuf Islam, formerly pop singer-songwriter Cat Stevens, who restated his support for Ayatollah Khomeini’s call for the death of “Satanic Verses” author Salman Rushdie. According to a report in the New York Times on Tuesday, Islam said during a British television program to be aired next week that if Rushdie were to turn up at his doorstep asking for help, he would “try to phone the Ayatollah . . . and tell him exactly where this man is.” Islam appeared as part of a panel discussing British reactions to the threats against Rushdie on “A Satanic Scenario,” scheduled to be broadcast on the Independent Television Network next Tuesday.